ME Faculty List
Professor Lisa Pruitt
Lawrence Talbot Chair in Engineering
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
5134 Etcheverry Hall, Mailstop 1740,
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
The easiest way to reach me is by email:
lpruitt@me.berkeley.edu
Research Interests:
Research is focused on structure-property relationships in orthopedic tissues, biomaterials and medical polymers. Current projects include the assessment of fatigue fracture mechanisms and tribological performance of orthopedic biomaterials, as well as characterization of orthopedic tissues and associated devices. Surface modifications using plasma chemistry are used to optimize polymers for medical applications. Attention is focused on wear, fatigue and multiaxial loading. Retrievals of orthopedic implants are characterized to model in vivo degradation and physiological loading. Biomechanical characterization of structural tissues is performed to assess clinical treatments and to develop constitutive relationships. Laboratory techniques for structural characterization include SEM, TEM, FEM, SAXS, USAXS, XPS, DSC, GPC, FTIR, AFM, confocal microscopy, wear testing, fatigue testing, fracture mechanics analysis, and nanoindentation. Research has been supported by NIH, NSF, ONR, DARPA, OREF and industry. Pedagogical experience includes curriculum development in mechanical engineering and bioengineering. Teaching includes freshman seminars; undergraduate courses on Mechanical Behavior and Processing of Materials, Structural Aspects of Biomaterials, and Principles of Bioengineering; graduate courses on Fracture Mechanics, Mechanical Behavior of Materials, and Polymer Engineering.